So long story short, I was homeschooled and entered college at 15 almost 16.
Two years later, I am now 18 and in a community college RN program and will graduate at 19 in little over a year. I am about 5 years younger than everyone! I am also very different in personality and take myself very seriously (most people think I look 16, but guess 22 if that helps).
I have absolutely no problems with school, although it is like bootcamp, and I am top of my class. My problem is I have no friends or like minded people. Whenever I do "group projects" I always feel like I do most of the thinking and have to babysit "kids" 5-20 years older than myself. Also, people only talk to me when they want to borrow something or want me as their personal dictionary. I also WILL NOT TOLERATE or converse about the same things as my class mates (i.e sex, getting drunk, personal problems, severe profanity, etc.)
Lastly, my goal is to go overseas to work someday and everyone I talk to thinks it is very unrealistic and rather selfish toward my own community. I would also like to note that I really don't let what a lot of people say bother me, but I would like to know if there are others out there sharing the same struggles as far as age and determination goes.
Specializes in primary care, holistic health, integrated medicine.
Just a thought: A good nurse will listen to a patient's plights, even if they are very different from their own. Drugs and alcohol: big problem for many, familial often, concurrent mental health issues often. Self medicating. Sex: relationship issues, intimate partner violence, prior sexual abuse issues; rape, etc. Personal problems: IBS, anal pain, excessive lady partsl bleeding, recent loss of love one or even pet, stress, financial issues, etc. You can learn a lot from listening to this stuff. Health or lack thereof does not include only the physical. In fact, personal issues are often a huge contributing factor to wellness. Being intelligent is awesome, but it does not make up for life experience. You can be a great nurse without being older, but there is something to be said for compassion for the plights of others.... especially when you start going to other countries or even neighborhoods. I say listen and ask questions. Listening is the key to excellent communication. Try not to judge. The more you learn about the nastiness of life, the more you will be able to assist patients in making better life choices.
"Everyone has a mountain to climb, everyone has a wilderness inside." Laurence Gonzales
I agree with much of what has already been said. You may seem mature for your age (honestly, my 19 yo self was not that far from my 22 yo self so....) but there is a lot of self-reflection and open-mindedness missing from your skill set. So much in nursing requires you to keep a straight, non-judgmental face when you hear the things people are going to want to tell you. This is going to make providing objective care very difficult from you and soon you will be complaining about how nursing isn't for you and NETY and all the above if you keep walking around with that stick up your butt.
I get it. I was also a Christian for a very, VERY long time (major emphasis on the "was"). However, it made me a square and my worldview was very narrow and needed to be changed pronto if I was going to successfully transition to adulthood. Tolerance is a big issue in nursing -- you have to put up with a lot from people that will not align with your personal values. Oh well. It is what it is. You can learn to be a part of the conversation and not judge and still maintain your faith and values. It's an art to be learned but it's possible to get on with others well and make friends. Just loosen up, ignore what other people are doing and just be yourself. If people don't like you for that then they aren't your crowd. Just try it. Drop the "I'm SO mature for my age" 'tude and give just being a human being a try and see how it works out.
I think being flexible in our communication is a good skill to have. The ability to talk to everyone about anything with an open mind and heart will ensure you'll get along with most people and to some degree, connect to them in some way! Perhaps it's time to stop molding everyone to fit into your world and maybe start becoming more like water? 😆😄
I just wanted to say that you are in for a rude awakening when you start working. Free your mind. Devoutly religious people are few and far between so unless you want to stay lonely forever you need to loosen up a little, make friends and stop judging everyone. You are not better than anyone just because you are religious.
Talk to your classmates and figure out a way to make friends with them so you won't feel so lonely.
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mystcnurse, MSN, APRN, NP
115 Posts
Just a thought: A good nurse will listen to a patient's plights, even if they are very different from their own. Drugs and alcohol: big problem for many, familial often, concurrent mental health issues often. Self medicating. Sex: relationship issues, intimate partner violence, prior sexual abuse issues; rape, etc. Personal problems: IBS, anal pain, excessive lady partsl bleeding, recent loss of love one or even pet, stress, financial issues, etc. You can learn a lot from listening to this stuff. Health or lack thereof does not include only the physical. In fact, personal issues are often a huge contributing factor to wellness. Being intelligent is awesome, but it does not make up for life experience. You can be a great nurse without being older, but there is something to be said for compassion for the plights of others.... especially when you start going to other countries or even neighborhoods. I say listen and ask questions. Listening is the key to excellent communication. Try not to judge. The more you learn about the nastiness of life, the more you will be able to assist patients in making better life choices.
"Everyone has a mountain to climb, everyone has a wilderness inside." Laurence Gonzales